Power wheel



May 23, 9- J. E. CARLIN 2,159,653

POWER WHEEL Filed 001.. l, 1936 INVENTOR 7/4/05 Z. QJ/aL/A/ ORNEY Patented May 23, 1939 v UNITED STATES Aren't? QFFICE 9 p 8 Claims. This invention relates to power means. More particularly, it relates to power wheels provided with highly improved vane construction.

One of the objects of'this invention is to provide a power wheel of the character described having conical shaped vanes of maximum capacity; so that the difference in power pressure will always be in favor of the concavity as against the l convexity.

Another object of my invention is to provide a power wheel of the character described, which 9 is adapted to be used for windmills and inwhich the construction and'disposition of the vanes are 9 1 I such that the tail, which is customarily employed 9. 1

in windmill wheels, may be dispensed with.

A further object of my invention is to provide a power wheel vane construction which may be easily applied to old windmills now in use, to

render them much more efficient.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a power wheel construction of the char- 9 parts, which is easy to assembleand relatively acter described, in which a plurality of such wheels may be utilized for buildingup great power.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a power wheel of the character described which comprises comparatively few and simple tures of construction, combinations of elements,

of which the scope of application will be indicated and arrangement of parts which will be exemplifled in the construction hereinafter described, and

in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is shown one of the various possible embodiments of this invention,

, ,Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a method of con- 9 structing the conical shaped vanes, whereby the maximum capacity of the cone is obtained; 45;

' Fig. 2 is a side elevational view, of a power a wheel embodying my invention, mounted for rotation on a horizontal axis; 9

9 Fig. 3 is a side elevational view, partly sectional, of a power wheel similar to that illustrated in Fig. 2, but mounted for rotation on a vertical axis;

. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a power wheel similar @to Fig. 2 but illustrating a modified form of mounting for the vanes;

Fig. 5 is a side elevational View of the Fig. 4 form of device; 9 9 9 1 Fig. 6 is still another modified form of power wheel construction embodying my invention; and

Fig. 7 is still another modified form of construction of a power wheel adapted for use in connection with windmills. 5

Referring now in detail to the drawing, there is disclosed in Fig. 2 one form of power wheel construction embodying my invention, comprising a wheel 18 which may be of any suitable construction generally employed in power wheels, 10 and mounted on a horizontal shaft I I for rotation therewith. Also mounted on the shaft ll is a pulley [2 having a belt i3 mounted thereon, said belt l3 being also mounted on another pulley not shown, which may be mounted on a shaft to be used for the purpose of driving any desired mechanism. Mounted on the rim Illa of the wheel I!) there is provided a plurality of vanes l5. These vanes. are preferably of conical shape, as shown, and mounted on said wheel ill by having one flat side Illa thereof fixed to said rim lila by any suitable attaching means, such as, for example, screws Hi. The cone shaped vanes l5 are so constructed that they will be of maximum capacity. A method of constructing such cones is 5 illustrated in Fig. 1 where there is shown a cir cular piece of suitable material 2!! from which a sector arye is out, the distance P being substantially equal to the radius R. The ends my and we are then brought together and fastened in any suitable manner to produce a cone l5, which is of maximum capacity. That the cone so pro duced will be of maximum capacity is illustrated by the following calculations:

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, let R be the radius of the circular diskifi, rye the sector to be cut out so that the remainder of the disk may be made into a conical vane by fastening the edges my and we together. Let 1" be the radius of the conical vane, it its perpendicular height, L

its slant height and ye the arc of the sector rye.

Then L is obviously equal to R. 21rRye:21rr or the arc ye=21r(Rr). Also V, the volume of the conical vane equals 1rz' h /R r 3 a Diiferentiating with respect to r, we get Putting the last term of the equation=0 for maximum or minimum, we have and when reduced, the arc yzzapproximately When the edges my and we are fastened upon each other, the open conical vane or cone so formed will thus be of maximum capacity.

The apex angle of the cone of maximum capacand ity may be readily computed. Thus, when. the

are P 23 (equal to E of R) is removed from the circular disc and the edges my and :02 are brought together, the circumference of the base of the cone thus formed will be substantially equal to or R(21r1.15) where R is the original radius of the disc and therefore the slant height of the formed cone. The radius of the base of the cone, conveniently denominated as R, is equal to the circumference of the base divided by 21r.

That is, the apex angle is equal to It is thus seen that by having conical shaped vanes l5 constructed in accordance with the above described manner, when any source of energy is applied to the wheel l0, such as water, steam or air pressure, the difference in such pressures between the concave and convex surfaces of the cone will always be in favor of the concavity as against the convexity. This will cause the wheel ID to rotate in one direction only, as indicated by the arrow D in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawing.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a power wheel 10 and vanes 15 similar in construction and operation to that illustrated in Fig. 2, but with the wheel I0 being mounted on a vertical shaft I la for rotation therewith about a vertical axis instead of on a horizontal axis as in the Fig. 2 form.

In Figs 4 and 5 I have shown a modified form of power wheel construction in which I prefer to mount the cones IS on the fiat side of the periphery of the wheel 10 rather than on the rim Illa. One advantage of the construction illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 is to be found in the fact that it is possible thereby to construct a wheel having a much smaller outside diameter than could be done with the form shown in Fig. ,2. Another advantage of the Figs. 4 and 5 form of construction lies in the fact that all the vanes are exposed to the action of the source of power at the same time, thereby obtaining increased power.

If it is desired to use the forms of my invention illustrated in Figs. 2, 4 and 5 for windmill operation, they may be efficiently employed in cooperation with the type of tail customarily employed in windmills.

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated another modified form of my invention, in which a plurality of power wheels Ill having conical shaped vanes ll) of similar construction to those shown in Figs. 2, Sand 4 are mounted on a vertical shaft H b for rotation therewith. The power generated by the wheels I0 and transmitted to the shaft llb will be cumulative, and thus, it is possible by this type of construction to build up great power, if

' desired.

In Fig. 7 I have shown still another modified form of my invention adapted for use in connection with wind power of the type commonly employed in windmills. In this form of construction I prefer to mount a power wheel Illc on a split shaft I I0, lie for rotation about a horizontal axis. The power wheel We may be of a construction similar to that shown in Figs. 4 and 5; that is, with the vanes l5 mounted on a flat side of said wheel. Instead of the tail customarily employed in windmills, I mount another power wheel llld, similar in construction and arrangement of vanes to the Fig. 2 form, on a shaft lld for rotation about a horizontal axis at right angles to the axis of rotation of the wheel lllc. The wheel llld is preferably of imperforate construction so that it may effectively act as a tail vane. The wheels I00 and llld may be pivotally mounted to rotate as a unit about a vertical axis, by means of a bearing support 23, in which the shafts lie, I Id and l l e may be journalled, the portion of the shaft I Is being journalled in the bearing portion 25. Suitable gearing means 22 is provided to permit the rotation about a vertical axis of the support 23 carrying the wheels I00 and ltd. When the wind blows in a direction shown by the arrow, the wheel I00 will rotate with the shaft He in a clockwise direction to cause the shaft H to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction by means of thegears 22. At the same time, due to the fact that the wheel N10 is of lesser diameter than the wheel llld, the wind passing by said wheel will actuate the vanes l5 of the wheel iiId to cause counter-clockwise rotation of said wheel about the shaft lid. Mounted on the shaft lld is a bevel gear 20 adapted to mesh with a bevel gear 21 on the shaft 1 le. It is thus seen that when the wheel ltd rotates in a counter clockwise direction, it will cause the shaft 1 If to also rotate in a counter-clockwise direction, which is the same direction of rotation of the shaft Ilf as that caused by the rotation of the wheel lilc on the shaft llc. It is thus seen that the power of the wheels I00 and Mid transmitted to'the shaft I If are additive, to provide a highly efiicient windmill. Power may be taken off from the shaft I if to operate any desirable mechanism or mechanisms, in any suitable manner.

It is thus seen that by this form of construction, the wheel llld is adapted to act as a tail to align the wheel I00 and at the same time is made use of to generate additional power.

While in the drawing there has been illustrated a type of power wheel particularly adapted for use with wind power, it is understood, however, that my invention may be applied to the use of power wheels operated by water, steam or air power.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this invention are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A power device of the character described comprising a rotatably mounted vertical shaft, a plurality of wheels mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, said wheels being disposed on different planes, each of said wheels having mounted thereon for rotation therewith a plurality of circumferentially spaced cone-shaped vanes, the axis of rotation of said vertical shaft being substantially at right angles to the direction of application of power.

2. In a windmill, in combination, a horizontal rotatably mounted shaft, a power wheel mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, a second horizontal rotatably mounted shaft at right angles to said first shaft, a second power wheel mounted on said second shaft for rotation therewith, a unitary support for saidshafts, said support being pivotally mounted for rotation about a vertical axis, means for driving said power wheels, and means for transmitting the power generated by one of said wheels to a third rotatably mounted shaft.

3. In a windmill, in combination, a horizontal rotatably mounted shaft, a power wheel mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, a second horizontal rotatably mounted shaft at right angles to said first shaft, a second power wheel mounted on said second shaft for rotation therewith, a unitary support for said shafts, said support being pivotally mounted for rotation about a vertical axis, means for driving said power wheels, and means for additively transmitting the power generated by both of said power wheels to a third rotatably mounted shaft.

4. In a windmill, in combination, two rotatably mounted power wheels adapted to rotate on horizontal axes at right angles to each other, one of said power wheels being so constructed and arranged that it is adapted to be used as a tail, means for driving said power wheels, and means for additively transmitting the power generated by both wheels to operate a mechanism.

5. In a windmill, in combination, two rotatably mounted power wheels adapted to rotate on horizontal axes at right angles to each other, one of said power wheels being so constructed and arranged that it is adapted to be used as a tail, means for driving said power wheels comprising a plurality of cone-shaped vanes rigidly mounted directly on said wheels, and means for additively transmitting the power generated by both Wheelsto operate a mechanism.

6. A power wheel of the character described comprising a rotatably mounted wheel and a plurality of hollow cone-shaped vanes of mammum capacity fixed to said wheel for rotation therewith, the circumference of the base of said coneshaped vanes being about R(21r1.15) where R is the slant height of said vanes.

'7. A power wheel of the character described comprising a rotatably mounted wheel and a plurality of vanes fixed to said wheel for rotation therewith, said vanes being cone-shaped and having an apex angle of about whereby they will be of maximum capacity.

8. A power wheel of the character described comprising a rotatably mounted wheel and a plurality of hollow cone-shaped vanes fixed to said wheel for rotation therewith, each of said vanes having a maximum capacity for its surface area.

JULIUS E. CARLDNI. 

